The following has been sent to various campuses and listservs by a user on Libertynet.

"There is a big scam going on where a person calls and says that they are doing a computer survey from a company. The company name that they give is usually a big well-known software company, and they usually say that they are doing the survey because they want to give out free software. They want to know what would be a good time for someone to come from their company and install the software on your PC.

"They also ask questions about income, etc. During their questioning, they (unknowingly to you) find out what time you're usually home, what kind of computer equipment you have and all sorts of other valuable information. At a company where a friend of mine works, a co-worker of his received one of these calls, and he was robbed the very next day (of course, when he was not home).

"I received a similar call yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, I knew about this ahead of time, and we didn't provide them with any information. I want to make you all aware of the situation and the potential danger involved in giving out any information like this over the phone.

"The people sound very genuine, and very few people are going to question receiving free software. I would advise you, however, to tell the people that if they have your phone number, they should have your address (we think they're getting it off the internet somehow), and they can mail you any free software they might be offering.

"If you have a home computer set-up, you should be familiar with installing your own software. You may even want to tell them you don't have a home computer. Whatever you're comfortable with.Please don't give out any information that you may regret later. Pass this information along to friends and family members, as well. The fewer people they are able to scam, the better. Thank you."